You Wear Your Mask, I'll Wear Mine
by fragmentarygirl
Summary: Swan Queen love story... eventually. Friendship, love, fluff, angst, drama, and of course smut all to be included at some point. This started off as a piece on Regina but quickly evolved into what I'm calling my "Swan Queen Epic Love Story". First fic ever, so be nice. Up to a T rating now, will be M later.
1. Chapter 1

This is my first fic ever, so please be nice (but honest) on your feelings about it! Starts off kinda slow, but stick with it, it'll get more exciting, I promise. I'm trying to build up an actual relationship here, it's gonna take time. So read on, enjoy, and please review! Also, this is not beta'd, so all mistakes are mine.

* * *

When she finally opened her eyes completely, trying to get accustomed to the morning light filtering in through the flimsy curtains, Regina sighed, stretching her body across the length of her bed. She rolled over onto her side, checking the time. Six thirty sharp, as usual. Trying to suppress a yawn, she sat up slowly, flattening her palm against her forehead and pushing her hair back in a practiced move. The yawn came anyway, and she stretched again, clasping her hands together and throwing them up and behind her head, giving in to the feeling.

Mornings always seemed to come around so quickly these days. Perhaps, she thought bitterly, that may have something to do with the fact that most of her nights lately were spent sipping apple cider in the study until long past a normal bedtime. She couldn't sleep. And when she did, it was a restless sleep, her head filled with dreams of a life that could have been, of dark memories that _had_ been.

And then, inevitably, morning would come. And with it, the strict routine of a day in the life of the Mayor. Six thirty - wake up. A quick shower - cold, of course - to wash off the heady scent of apples and, lately, alcohol. She knew that if she turned the knob in the shower to a warmer temperature, she would never get out. She'd spend the entire day in there, letting the steam wrap around her skin, the hot water leaving red marks across her back like a lover's nails. So the water remained cold, the shower short and to the point. Then the hair, with it's perfectly flipped ends, and the makeup.

She went a little light on the makeup today, tired and wanting to forgo some small part of her routine, at least. She sighed, rubbing her fingers lightly over her lipstick and pursing her lips at the reflection presented in the mirror. _The fairest in all the land_... or so she had been told. She didn't feel that way now. Not with the slight bags under her eyes, the barely noticeable yet oh-so-there limpness in her usually shiny and full hair. The dullness of her eyes. Something was amiss.

That something was Emma Swan. The lion-hearted woman had barged into Regina's previously structured life and thrown everything into chaos. Henry had taken to her immediately, and, if we were being honest, so had Regina. She simply wasn't so keen to show it.

She knew, deep down at the heart of everything, that Emma Swan was there to get her son back. She may have denied it over and over again, but Regina's not stupid. She knows that Henry is the reason Emma came to Storybrooke. He's the reason Emma _stayed_ in Storybrooke. He's also the reason Emma's somehow managed to wedge her way into the Mayor's life and flip everything upside down.

Oh, Regina pretends to be annoyed by it, and on a base level, she is. She's annoyed by Emma's stupid red jacket, her gruff manners, and her blunt words. She's annoyed, and yet it's endearing, all at once. It's endearing, because deep down, Regina sees what Emma Swan is. She sees that Emma wears a mask to protect her heart, same as Regina herself does. They've simply chosen different masks.

All the same, Regina buries her feelings towards the blonde woman. It's not that difficult; they're not strong feelings. She barely knows the woman. All she knows is that she feels some kind of kinship with Emma Swan; she feels pulled to her in a way she hasn't felt towards anyone for a long time - lover, family, or friend. And she knows that Emma is her enemy; she cannot be her friend, despite all of their obvious similarities, and she definitely cannot be more than a friend, as Regina sometimes finds herself thinking about after the sun goes down and her cider burns a path down to her belly. No, nothing more. They are at odds here, both wanting the same thing but neither exactly willing to share it. The only problem for Regina is that Emma basically already has all of it. Henry's love.

Still, Regina fights on, never one to give up. Henry is all that she has left of her happy ending, and she will cling to that last vestige of hope until the day she dies, that much she knows. Emma knows it too, which is perhaps the singular reason she still abides by Regina's rules regarding the boy. The rules that, under Regina's stipulation, have said that Emma will be joining the Mills family of two for dinner. Tonight.

* * *

"Henry! Time to go, grab your things and get in the car. Being late is a sign of disorder, and we wouldn't want to give anyone in this town a reason to think that this household is in disorder now, would we?" Regina smiled sweetly at her son as he came down the stairs into the foyer, shrugging his coat haphazardly onto his shoulders and throwing a scarf around his neck.

He sighed, grabbing his backpack from Regina's outstretched hands, and walked out the front door, his mother on his heels. "Oh no, no disorder in _this_ family," he remarked sarcastically, rolling his eyes at his mother's huff behind him.

"Excuse me?" Regina asked, grabbing his shoulders and turning him around on the front step after pulling the door shut behind them. She straightened his jacket, brushing invisible specks of dirt off the shoulders as her son rolled his eyes at her yet again.

"Nothing, can we go? Miss Blanchard said she would tell us another story today in class, I don't wanna miss it. She tells the best stories!"

Regina winced internally at that, the unintended barb hitting her hard in the chest. She remembered the days when Henry used to ask _her_ to tell him stories, his eyes lighting up as he hung on her every word about dragons and fairies and magical rivers and genies. But those days were long gone. He wasn't that child anymore, she reminded herself. No, he was a growing boy with a mind of his own. A mind that was set on viewing his own mother as the Evil Queen.

Regina dropped Henry off at school, spotting Emma waiting around on the bench outside yet again. She huffed, annoyed that the Deputy had the gall to continue going behind her back even after she had made allowances regarding her son. She knew that the two used to meet in secret, but that was exactly why she had agreed to a few select times a week when Henry and Emma could meet... with Regina's supervision, of course. And yet here she was again, sneaking around and trying to see Henry when Regina wasn't there.

A fire burned in Regina's belly. She was furious. Never one to be undermined or cheated, she resolved to visit the Sheriff's office later in the day and have a word with Ms Swan about all of this.

Glaring down at her fists, which were clenched so tightly around the steering wheel that her knuckles were turning white, Regina hardly noticed Henry's short, "Bye mom," as he hopped out of the car, eager to go meet Emma on the bench. She looked up after he left, though, and was mildly confused by the scene playing out before her.

Emma ruffled Henry's hair in a confident, intimate gesture that got Regina's blood boiling with jealousy, but then Emma said something to him and he backed away, looking annoyed. She hugged him, ruffled his hair again, and pushed him off towards the front doors of the school. He trudged away, and Regina watched him go, wondering what she had just witnessed. Emma waited around in the morning just to say hey for ten seconds and get a hug?

Her eyes shifted back to the blonde, drawn there by some unknown force. She let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding as she unintentionally made eye contact with the Deputy. Emma Swan was staring straight at her. She cocked her head slightly and smiled that dopey little smile when she saw that Regina was finally looking at her, too. Regina's face flushed slightly, and she took in a sharp breath, quickly looking away.

Emma began to walk towards the sleek Lincoln, casually strutting across the street and walking up to the passenger's side window. She motioned for Regina to roll the window down, but Regina stayed still, staring straight ahead, not sure if she wanted to get into whatever was going on here. Emma, of course, didn't care. She simply opened the door and climbed right in, ignoring Regina's intake of breath at her doing so.

"Hey Regina," she said casually. Too casually.

"Hello, Ms Swan. To what do I owe the... pleasure?" Regina's lips curled around the last word, making it clear that she meant everything but.

"Oh stop being such a hardass, jesus. Sorry I climbed into your perfect limo without your permission. I just wanted to talk... again."

It always amazed Regina how Emma picked up on her moods so quickly, but was never afraid of the mayor's stony words like everyone else in the town seemed to be. She never shrunk away from her, and it always threw Regina off just a little bit, internally at least. Externally, she remained calm, cold, and professional, as usual.

"Yes, well, there are phones for that, Deputy. I'm quite sure you have one?" The mayor questioned in her silky smooth voice, making it clear that the comment was meant to be condescending.

"Yes, Regina, I have a phone. Now can we quit with the sarcasm and just talk for a minute? It's about Henry."

Regina finally turned to face the blonde, fixing her with a glare.

"I thought we had already talked about Henry plenty. An agreement was reached, Ms Swan. I do hope you are still satisfied with it, because I certainly don't intend to continue making deals with you regarding _my_ son." Regina clenched tighter to the steering wheel, already conflicted about the agreement she had previously made with Emma.

The were two simple reasons why she was okay with the Deputy coming over for dinner twice a week. One - it gave Emma the chance to see Henry without going behind Regina's back to do so, and Regina hoped beyond hope that it would make Henry a little less cold with her. Two - it gave her an excuse to have Emma Swan in her home. And no matter that she knew she could never be anything but enemies with the blonde woman, Regina still took some small comfort from having her around.

Emma's laughter filled up the Mills household in a way that it had not been filled in years. It filled some of the cracks in Regina's heart, too, not that she'd ever admit it. It was hard, sometimes, to hold back the smiles Regina felt coming up her throat at the stupid jokes Emma would crack at the dinner table. But she held them back, kept her mask in place, and remained stony as ever. She had to.

Emma was there to take Henry away from her, and no matter how much happiness the blonde had unwittingly brought into her life, Regina knew she needed to remember that. She knew that she needed to retain the upper hand in this situation, and doing so required her to remain indifferent to the blonde. Or at least to act like she was.

But she was conflicted about the agreement because it was growing harder and harder for her to act indifferent towards the insufferable Deputy.


	2. Chapter 2

_But she was conflicted about the agreement because it was growing harder and harder for her to act indifferent towards the insufferable Deputy._

* * *

Last Friday, Emma had joined them for spaghetti, meatballs, and garlic bread. She had showed up at six o'clock sharp, and had even brought a bottle of wine. Cheap wine, which Regina had initially turned her nose up at, but wine all the same. The sentiment was there.

It was their third dinner together since reaching the agreement, and something was shifting slightly in the dynamic between the three of them. Regina, during the previous two dinners, had basically sat back and eaten her food in a bubble of her own as Emma and Henry had eagerly talked and laughed over many topics. Afterwards, Emma had gone straight home, not even bothering to attempt to stay for a movie like Henry begged her to, because Regina had fixed her with a look that clearly meant she was not welcome to do so.

But Friday night... Friday night had been different. Emma had nudged Regina into a few of the conversations, and Henry, seemingly unwilling at first, had soon warmed to Regina's reluctant entrance into the dinner talk. Forty-five minutes into the dinner, Henry was bent over laughing as Emma let noodles hang from her mouth, making her look like a walrus with some pretty lame tusks, and Regina was trying her best to stifle a giggle. As the blonde went cross-eyed, doubling the silliness of her face in the moment, Regina found she couldn't hold it in anymore. She laughed. A real, musical laugh, and it was so unexpected that both Henry and Emma froze in their seats. Emma's noodles dropped from her mouth as she gaped at Regina.

"What, I can't laugh now?" Regina snapped, all the usual coolness returning to her voice as her face hardened in Emma's direction.

"That's not it, it's just... I don't think I've ever heard you laugh for real before. Took me by surprise a little bit, I guess."

Regina hmmphed at the table, picking up her fork and stabbing a meatball with more force than necessary. "Just because you yourself haven't experienced something, Miss Swan, does not mean that it isn't capable of happening." She popped the meatball in her mouth, chewing slowly over it as she looked up at Emma with her cold stare back in place.

Only this time, she couldn't quite keep the corners of her mouth all the way down.

Emma saw it, and decided to try and salvage the moment. "Come on, Regina," she cajoled as she hung the noodles from her mouth again and started crossing her eyes, "I like your laugh!"

Regina started to smile and caught herself quickly, but both Henry and Emma had already seen it happen. They smiled to each other, and Regina, for her part, acted as if none of it had happened. But she was still smiling to herself as she twirled a few noodles around her fork and placed them neatly into her mouth.

The three continued eating in silence, a warm, happy glow surrounding the table. Emma looked up at Regina between bites, and, catching the brunette doing the same, smiled goofily at her. Regina smiled right back, not even bothering to continue acting grumpy towards the blonde.

They stayed like that for a moment, until Henry cleared his throat awkardly. He was staring back and forth between the two, confused by the moment they seemed to think they were sharing privately. They both started at his noise, snapping out of their gaze.

Regina hopped up, taking her napkin from her lap and placing it on the table. "I'll just... go in the kitchen and grab dessert," she said, beginning to turn around and head towards the kitchen.

"What?" Emma and Henry both said at the same time. "There's dessert?" Henry looked excited beyond words, and Emma, although she was trying her best to hide it, certainly had a twinkle of anticipation in her eye. Regina hadn't made dessert for their previous two dinners. Emma had just assumed that Regina wanted her out of there as fast as possible, so she saw no point in prolonging the dinner by including an extra course. Tonight, however, Emma realized that she'd get to stay just a little bit longer than usual, even if only to enjoy a quick treat at the table.

"Yes, dessert," Regina said proudly. "It's apple pie." She smiled her wide, gregarious, smile, continuing - "I baked it this afternoon, while you were at school, Henry. I wanted it to be a surprise."

Regina was beaming at Henry, clearly expecting him to be happy about the fact that he got dessert AND more time with Emma. Instead, he was visibly sulking, looking at Emma with an almost fearful glance.

He leaned over and whispered loudly to her, clearly trying to let Regina hear what he was saying. "Don't eat it Emma. She's probably poisoned it!"

Emma's eyes squinted at Henry, silently berating him for his words. She looked up at Regina, fearful of what Henry's remark had done to the wonderful mood the Mayor had seemed to reluctantly have slipped into. Regina was already turned around, walking quickly into the kitchen, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor.

"Kid..." Emma admonished Henry, giving him a look that he knew meant she didn't approve of his actions.

Before he could respond, Emma was up from her seat and following Regina into the kitchen. She found her at the sink, her back to Emma, furiously scrubbing away at the spaghetti pot from earlier.

Emma walked slowly up behind Regina, resting her hand on her arm lightly, so as not to startle her.

"Regina..." she began, rubbing her thumb in light circles over the smooth fabric of the woman's shirt. "He didn't mean it. He's just a kid, we all know how wrapped up he is in those stories. It's all he has right now."

Regina breathed slowly, deeply, before turning around to face the blonde. Emma caught an almost imperceptible flash of the Mayor's eyes - sadness, loneliness, and something else - but then it was gone, her mouth in a thin, hard line, her eyes dark and heavy once again.

"Thank you, Miss Swan, for your feeble attempt at consolation, but I can assure you that I more than anyone can understand Henry. He is _my_ son, after all, and after ten years of raising him I can promise I have learned to be able to brush off such childish remarks."

"Oh really?" Emma ventured, taking a step closer to Regina, effectively trapping her against the counter. "Then why are you in here scrubbing away at that pot like it's been soaking in sausage grease for the past week?" There was a playfulness to her tone, and she brushed closer to Regina, still resting her hand lightly on the other woman's arm. She smirked, thinking she had won this round.

"I'm not even going to inquire at to why you know how difficult it is to clean a pan that has been soaking in animal fat for a week, because really, Miss Swan, I do not need to know all about your filthy living habits. But please, for your sake, stop thinking that you know everything about everyone. I, unlike others," she said, giving Emma a pointed look, "know how to let such silly, unimportant comments go. I also know how to wash my dishes before they get disgustingly congealed and begin releasing toxins into my house, which is exactly why I was in here so 'furiously scrubbing' at that pot, as you put it." Regina pushed past Emma, grabbing the pie from the counter.

Emma turned around, confusion showing on her face. All of the playfulness that she had thought was present in their conversation had quickly rushed out, leaving her feeling stupid as Regina walked back into the dining room, pie in hand.

She bristled, angry that Regina had made her feel this way after all she had been trying to do was help the other woman. She stalked after her, taking her seat at the table once more as Regina began to dole out slices of pie. They ate in silence, Henry shrinking down in his chair a little, embarrassed that even his "real" mom had chastised him for the poison comment.

Eventually, ignoring the confusion clouding him over his moms seemingly getting along earlier, Henry finally spoke, breaking the tight silence. "Mom..." he began, cautiously. Regina looked up, first at Henry, then to Emma, as if to double check that her son had indeed intended to get her attention. Once satisfied that she was the "mom" right now, she settled her gaze on Henry once more, quirking an eyebrow expectantly. "Can... can Emma stay for a movie tonight? Please?"

Emma, startled, tried in vain to keep her food in her mouth as she quickly chimed in. "Henry, I think your mom's done enough hosting for tonight. I'll be back for dinner on Tuesday, you know that." She smiled brightly at the boy, wishing desperately that he'd drop the movie thing. She knew Regina wasn't in the mood to have her around for any longer than necessary. 'Not that such a mood even existed in the first place with Regina,' she thought to herself.

Henry's smile dropped down into a frown as he look across the table to Regina, silently pleading her to say something and let Emma stay. She didn't look at him, instead watching Emma as she tried to discreetly wipe up the garlic bread crumbs she had just sprayed everywhere.

"I think," Regina began slowly, making firm eye contact with Emma as she looked up at Regina's words. "That we have plenty of time for a movie tonight, seeing as how it's not a school night and neither Miss Swan nor I have to be at work early tomorrow morning."

"We don't?"

Regina raised her eyebrow at Emma, silently telling her to "shut the fuck up and accept my invitation to stay longer". Emma got the hint.

"I mean, yeah, I suppose we do have time. As long as it's okay with your mom, I can stay for a little bit longer." Emma smiled at Henry, the boy already halfway out of his seat and on his way to the living room.

"I'll pick out the movie!" He yelled, leaving the two women alone at the table in silence.


	3. Chapter 3

"You really don't have to do this, you know. I'm fine with just the dinners, really. You've already been pretty generous with letting me see Henry." Emma began, a little timidly. She wasn't quite sure what was going on with Regina right now. This whole night, while fun so far, had been a little bit weird. She wasn't used to Regina being nice to her and laughing and making dessert and letting her stay for a movie.

"I know that, Miss Swan. I didn't do it for you. I did it for my son. If it makes him happy, then so be it." Regina stood, picking up her dishes and walking briskly into the kitchen, not even giving Emma a chance to reply.

Realization dawned. 'Of course that's why she's acting like this. For Henry,' Emma thought to herself, feeling stupid for not having realized that earlier. 'If she's nice to me, at least when Henry's around, then maybe he won't hate her so much.'

The blonde hurriedly grabbed her dishes and followed, bumping slightly into Regina as she squeezed between the woman and the island in the middle of the kitchen. Regina was at the sink, once again, rinsing the dishes off before placing them in the dishwasher. Emma stood awkwardly next to her, not quite sure what to do with her dishes. She didn't want to assume Regina would take care of them for her, so she decided to wait until the woman was done so that she could rinse them off herself.

"I can take care of those. Go settle in with Henry, make sure he's picked out a reasonable movie and not some ridiculous zombie film or something. I trust you know where the living room is?" She turned to face the blonde with her question, holding out her hands to take Emma's dishes while raising her eyebrow in question.

"Yeah, I can find it," Emma conceded, handing Regina her plate. The woman turned back to the sink, but Emma wasn't done yet. "And Regina?" She didn't look up, instead focusing extremely hard on scrubbing one piece of food off of the plate. "Thank you. For everything tonight."

Emma turned around and walked away before Regina could reply, a blush already forming on her cheeks. 'Why are we being so nice to each other? This is weird. Okay, Swan, get it together. This is for Henry. It's all for Henry. You're trying to be friends with that... ridiculously frustrating woman. For Henry. Stop freaking out, she's just being nice so he won't hate her so much. It's not like she actually _likes_ you or anything. And you're just being nice because she's being nice. You don't like her either. Get. It. Together.'

Finishing her personal pep talk, Emma felt a little more relaxed. She would simply sit on the couch with Henry and Regina, watch a movie with them in silence, and then leave. Easy as pie. 'Ooh, pie. God that pie Regina made was good. Maybe she'll let me have another piece later?'

"Emma, hey! I picked out the movie!" Henry beamed at the blonde as she walked into the family room, pulling her from her thoughts. "It's one of mom's favorites." Emma looked to see what movie it was.

"Moulin Rouge?" She questioned, raising her eyebrow at her son. "You're sure _this_ movie is one of your mom's favorites, kid?"

"Yep, she cries every time we watch it."

"And you're sure we're talking about the same mother here."

Henry rolled his eyes at her, taking the DVD out of it's case and putting it into the player. Emma sighed and sat down on the far end of the couch, wondering if eye-rolling was genetic. He certainly hadn't gotten that one from Regina, that much she knew. Regina was more of a... subtle woman than that. She didn't roll her eyes in disdain, she smiled through her teeth and made it clear how she felt through the tone of her voice, all while keeping up a perfectly groomed front. It was one of the things that frustrated Emma the most about the woman. It was also one of the things she found most intriguing about her, if she was being honest. She couldn't help but wonder what real feelings Regina was hiding under that mask. If she even had any real feelings, that is. Sometimes Emma wasn't so sure.

But then things like that moment in the kitchen after Henry had mentioned the poison happened - Emma was sure it had hurt Regina, no matter how hard the brunette tried to deny it. She wondered why it was the Regina always felt so compelled to hide her real emotions and act as if everything were perfect on the outside.

'Speaking of perfect,' she thought, swinging her legs up into a crossed position on the couch as Regina walked into the living room, setting herself lightly down on the opposite end of the couch. She curled her feet under her, snuggling lightly into the pillow that was lying against the armrest.

"Wow, so you do actually take your shoes off sometimes. I was beginning to think you just slept in them." Emma said, smirking at Regina.

"Miss Swan, just because I take it upon myself to look decent for a semi-formal dinner does not mean that I don't know how to relax."

"Semi-formal? I thought we were just having a family meal with our... son." Emma quieted as she said the last word, suddenly all too aware that she had said 'our', not 'your' son, or even just 'Henry'. She looked straight ahead, willing the movie to start so that she could avoid the rest of the conversation. Thankfully, it did.

"Henry, skip through the previews please. Miss Swan may be staying for a movie tonight but you do still have a bed time."

"Yes mom," he replied, drawing out the vowels and rolling his eyes yet again as he turned towards the DVD player and hit fast forward.

Regina looked at Emma, who was watching the screen intently. 'Did she just call him _our _son?' she wondered to herself. Emma chose that moment to look at Regina. When she caught the brunette staring straight at her, she cracked an awkward little smile before hurriedly turning to face the screen once again. Regina adjusted her feet again, waiting to see which movie her son had picked.

"Moulin Rouge, Henry? We just watched this last week."

"I know mom, but it's one of your favorites. I wasn't sure what to pick because I don't really know what kind of movies Emma likes." The boy gave her an apologetic look.

"It's fine kid, this is a pretty good movie." Emma smiled at her son, patting the empty spot on the couch between her and Regina. "Now come sit down and let's have this movie night!"

Henry scrambled onto the couch between his mothers, suddenly not sure where to sit. Regina was waiting, as usual, with a pillow placed on top of her legs so that he could lie on top of it. He usually snuggled up against his mom, it being one of their few mother-son type moments they still had, but he didn't want to make Emma feel left out. Suddenly, he had an idea. He grabbed another pillow, lying down on his mom's legs as usual, but then he mirrored his mom's position and placed the extra pillow on his legs, motioning for Emma to lean against him. Emma started to say something, but then relented, seeing as how the movie was starting and Regina was shushing both of them.

The three formed one long pillow train across the couch, Emma stacked on Henry's leg's, who was stacked on Regina's legs, who was leaning against a pillow and the arm of the couch.

"There was a boy. A very strange enchanted boy..." The words drifted through the room as the three settled down to watch the movie, Ewan McGregor's face fading onto the screen.

Henry whispered to Emma, "I think he's the reason she likes this movie so much." They both giggled, Regina slapping Henry lightly.

"I heard that!" Emma and Henry giggled harder. "Now be quiet and watch the movie," she directed, sniffling a bit at the end. They looked at each other, trying to contain another burst of laughter at Regina trying to be a hardass even though she was already beginning to tear up.

"Told you she cries!" He whispered again, earning yet another light slap.

"I'm serious, you two! Watch the movie like adults or we will end this movie night right now!" Regina sniffled again, trying to hide the fact that she was indeed already starting to cry.

Emma and Henry looked at Regina, and then each other one more time, stifling their giggles. The three watched the movie in silence from then on, with only a few stray giggles from Emma and Henry when they would occasionally look over to see Regina wiping at her eyes.

By the time Satine had died in Christian's arms, Henry was fast asleep on Regina's lap and Regina was openly crying, not even bothering to hide it anymore. Emma watched the screen as the credits finally began to roll, feeling awkward with Regina crying. It was so foreign to see the mayor show any kind of emotion, let alone a weak one like crying.

"We should... probably get him up to bed." Emma began slowly, sitting up and looking over at Regina. She was running her fingers lightly through her son's hair, smiling down at his sleeping form.

The brunette sniffled a few more times, wiping her eyes dry and composing herself. "I'll carry him up. He gets all disoriented if you wake him up when he falls asleep on the couch, and then he can't fall back asleep."

"Oh." Emma watched as Regina shifted, inching her way out from under the boy and then bending down to pick him up in a fireman's carry. She also watched the whole time Regina was walking away, her hips swaying slightly with the weight of the young boy - not that Emma would admit that part if anyone asked.

She wondered briefly if she was allowed to follow and help tuck Henry in, but decided against it, wanting to let Regina have her small moment for the night. 'Besides,' thought Emma, 'I should probably get my stuff and head out. I think I've definitely been in Regina's presence for long enough to night. Everything's starting to get weird. I feel like I almost can't help being nice to her right now. She seems so... _human_.'

Emma pulled herself out of her thoughts as she heard Regina padding back down the stairs. She started to get up and head towards the doorway, ready to leave, since she was sure she definitely wasn't welcome to stay after Henry had gone to bed.

She stopped in the doorway as Regina strode right in front of her, not even bothering to acknowledge the blonde. She continued on down the hall, finally pausing at another door at the end of it, turning to Emma, and giving her that infamous eyebrow quirk. "Well, are you coming or what?"


	4. Chapter 4

_Well, are you coming or what?" _

* * *

Emma, confused, decided to follow her and see what was going on. She stepped into the room behind Regina, realizing immediately that it was her study, the room they had first talked in when Emma had brought Henry back from Boston.

Regina had her back to Emma, pouring some of what the blonde assumed could only be that damn cider. She sat down on the couch, waiting for Regina to say something. The brunette finally turned around and handed her a glass, smiling broadly at her. She sat down in the armchair opposite Emma's position on the couch, taking a slow sip of her drink. The silence was getting uncomfortable for Emma, so she went to her usual defense mechanism - making a joke.

"Geez, I didn't expect you to be that strong, considering you do kinda spend all day sitting behind a desk and stuff." Emma teased, giving the Mayor a small smile to let her know that she was, in fact, teasing her.

"I'll have you know, Miss Swan, that job requires a lot more than simply sitting behind a desk. And I do work out four times a week. Pilates and cardio." Regina smiled smugly, clearly proud of her dedication to her fitness.

"Oh, so THAT's where those arms come from." Emma smirked back at her, finally feeling a bit more at ease with the older woman. She wasn't sure if it was the huge gulp of cider she had taken when Regina first handed her the glass, or just the fact that the Mayor actually seemed capable of joking around, but something made Emma feel a little more comfortable talking to her tonight than on any other occasion the two had talked.

"Yes, that or the ridiculously heavy paperweight Henry made for me when he was in the first grade. I'm still not quite sure how he carried that thing home. Fully insisted on heaving it into the house all on his own though." Regina smiled a little, recalling the memory. "I use it every day at work, reminds me of him."

Emma smiled to herself, enjoying hearing some good memories of Regina and Henry. A comfortable silence fell over the pair for a minute, both taking the moment to drink some more.

"I think I was wrong, you know." Emma said, seemingly out of nowhere.

"About what, Miss Swan?"

"I... I didn't believe you truly loved Henry. I think it just freaked me out when I saw how good he actually has it with you, like all of my insecurities came flooding back at once. He has exactly the life I wanted for him, minus the crazy fairy tale thing, and yet I wasn't happy about it. Too jealous that you've been able to give him so much when I could never give him anything, I guess. It hurts a lot more than I thought it would."

Silence enveloped the pair again, Regina's eyebrows knitting together as she tried to figure out how to respond to such unusual, heartfelt honesty from the blonde.

"Miss Swan..."

"You know what? Forget I even said that. I don't know where that came from, I'm sorry. I know you love Henry and that's all that matters now." Emma wiped at her face, catching a stray tear that had begun to fall.

"You've given him plenty, Emma." Regina said, softly. She looked at the blonde, who wouldn't look up at her.

"Oh, first name basis now, huh? Shoulda told me that all I had to do was share one little moment of vulnerability to get to first base with you." Emma laughed playfully, looking up at Regina once again as she composed herself, laughing over her tears.

Regina quirked an eyebrow yet again, confused. "First base?"

"Yeah, you know, first base, first name basis? It's a joke."

"I'm well aware that you intended for it to be a joke, Miss Swan, I'm just not sure how the baseball reference is supposed to be funny."

"Really, Regina? Back to Miss Swan already?" She raised an eyebrow at the brunette.

Regina relented slightly, waving her hand and sighing, "Habit."

"And you _seriously_ don't know what first base is?"

"Sure I do - "

"NOT first base like in baseball, jesus. First base like, touching?" Emma shifted on the couch, clearly uncomfortable with where this conversation was going. She took another sip of her drink.

"Excuse me?"

"Like, you know... fondling?" Regina's eyes went wide. "That sort of thing. Jesus Regina it was just a joke. Now you've made it awkward!"

"Well excuse me for not knowing your secret code for sexual activity. Most adults are mature enough to use actual words, not silly slang terms." Regina set her glass down on the table between the two women, brushing her hands across her lap and along the length of her skirt.

"You're telling me that you seriously don't know about the four bases? C'mon Regina, everyone who's ever been a teenager in high school knows about the four bases!"

"I was... homeschooled." Regina said quietly. Emma quieted down a bit as she took this information in, suddenly aware of how loud she had been getting.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know that."

"There's a lot about me that you don't know, Miss Swan." Regina swung one leg up over the other, crossing them at the knee.

"Emma."

Regina sighed lightly, giving Emma a small smile at the name correction but not bothering to say it out loud.

"You could always tell me, ya know. Some stuff. About you. I'm a pretty good listener." Emma smiled at Regina.

"Not much to tell, I'm afraid. I was young, I grew up, learned some lessons, and now I'm here, this person I've created in this place I've created. Not much I can do about any of that." Regina took a deep breath and exhaled through her nose, picking up her glass and taking a long drink.

"Things can always be changed, Regina. People can always change." Emma shifted again, staring straight at Regina, who was now looking at the bottom of her glass instead of at the blonde. She ran the tip of her pointer finger around the top of her glass over and over again.

Quietly, she spoke, without looking up from the glass. "I'm not so sure I believe that, but it's a nice thought."

Emma exhaled, annoyed that Regina was being so moody all of a sudden. "I've changed."

Regina quirked an eyebrow, finally looking up at the blonde and waiting for her to elaborate.

"I mean, I've always run. When I get close to someone, I always run. If I leave first, there's no way anyone can ever leave me, right? But I'm here, now. And I'm staying. For Henry. I've changed. It is possible."

Regina hmmmphed a little, not sure how to respond. Finally, she spoke, her voice hardened just the tiniest bit, all of her usual formality back in place. "It's getting late, Miss Swan."

Emma got the hint, standing up to excuse herself. "I can show myself out. Thanks for dinner and everything. It was... nice."

"Don't be silly. I'll walk you to the door." Regina smiled, some of her warmth from earlier showing up again. "You should know by now that I'm nothing if not a gracious host. I would never make you show yourself out, let alone wash your own dishes." A hint of a smirk showed on her face as she stood to lead the blonde to the foyer.

"My, my, is Regina Mills _joking around_? This is certainly new." Emma grinned, following Regina out the door of the study.

"As you may have discerned from earlier tonight, I do actually know how to laugh and have a good time Miss Swan. I simply prefer to act presentable and professional at all times when in the public eye."

"I've noticed," Emma muttered.

Regina continued on, ignoring Emma's remark. "It does not do one good to give others anything they may potentially use against you, especially when you're an elected official. I like to keep my citizens assured that their Mayor is courteous, organized, and extremely professional."

"Well you certainly are all of those things, Mayor Mills. And more."

Regina stopped, suddenly, Emma bumping into her back before she had a chance to realize that the older woman had quit moving.

"Well, goodnight Miss Swan." Regina began slowly as she turned around to face the other woman. Was that a hint of reluctance that Emma was hearing in her voice? Why would Regina Mills ever be reluctant to see Emma Swan leaving her house?

Emma scrunched her face up in confusion and reached to grab her coat off the hanger, turning around to face Regina once again as she shrugged it over her shoulders.

"And thank you for the three dollar apple juice in the glass bottle." Emma caught the twinkle in Regina's eye, laughing lightly.

"It was wine, Regina. And you're welcome." She smiled broadly at the brunette.

"Yes, well, it was quite an... interesting combination with my three-course, entirely homemade dinner." Regina countered, clearly teasing her.

"Whatever Regina, it wasn't that bad of a wine."

"Clearly cheap - " Regina started, causing Emma to roll her eyes. " - But not entirely disgusting." She smiled at the blonde for what Emma thought must be the millionth time that night.

"Yeah, well, either way, it got you buzzed enough to laugh and smile and be nice to me for once, didn't it?"

A small silence fell between the two women. Regina nodded her head lightly in agreement and flashed the barest hint of a smile. Emma turned to open the front door, the light from the foyer pouring out onto the step. A faint chirping filled the air. Crickets, probably.

Emma paused midway out the door, turning back to the older woman. "I really did like hearing you laugh for once, Regina," she said quietly, a sudden sense of seriousness settling over the pair.

Regina, not sure how to respond, simply stared at the blonde. Emma, kind of nervous now, uttered a quick, "Well, thanks again. Goodnight." She turned, walking briskly down the pathway to her bright yellow Beetle. Regina watched her go, an unreadable expression on her face.

When Emma's car had pulled fully out of the Mayor's view, she shut the door slowly, leaving her hand pressed up against the back of it. After a moment, a slow smile spread across her lips.


	5. Chapter 5

**EDIT: This chapter begins where we left off before all of the flashbacks - with Emma in Regina's car after Henry has been dropped off at school. Thanks goes out to karjens44 for saying something, I wasn't sure if it was too hard to figure out but their feedback made me want to go back and clear that up for everyone. Enjoy! :)**

"Dammit Regina, I'm not here to make a deal with you. I just want to _talk."_ Emma twisted sideways in the black leather seat, staring straight at the Mayor whom, in turn, continued to focus quite intently on her hands, still gripped tightly around the steering wheel.

When Regina made no move to answer the blonde, she decided to just say what she had to say, whether Regina was in the mood to have a conversation with her or not.

"I want to keep doing the dinner thing. I know this first few weeks was just a trial run but I want to keep doing it. I mean, I like that I get to see Henry and you don't have to get mad because nobody's sneaking around and I think it's a good, healthy thing for all three of us and I really love eating dinner with you two because your food is fucking delicious and dammit, Regina, you almost act like a normal human being when it's just the three of us in your house. Or the two of us."

Regina had finally looked up as Emma rushed out all her thoughts in one long, run-on sentence. She stared at Regina, her breath slightly ragged, waiting for a response. Then suddenly, with no warning, Regina was on her. She grabbed at blonde curls, mashing Emma's lips to her own. Emma let out a little squeak at the intrusion of her space, her eyes flying wide open and her hands reaching out to find Regina's head with the intention of pushing the brunette away.

Her hands connected with soft, short hair. She wound it around her fingers, ready to pull the Mayor's head away from her own, but something inside of her collapsed. Regina's lips just felt so _good,_ dammit! She relaxed into the unexpected kiss, a shiver running down her spine as the tip of Regina's lip made a pass against her closed mouth. A light moan made it's way up her throat, bubbling out into the brunette's mouth. Regina took the opportunity to bite lightly on the blonde's lower lip, edging out another, lower moan from the woman. Regina hissed, pulling tighter on Emma's curls, practically thrusting herself over the middle console of her car and into the other woman's lap.

Halfway over, she jammed her stomach on the drink holder, tensing up at the pain and pulling down hard on Emma's long hair.

"Fuck!"

"Ow!"

"Jesus, Regina. Stop trying to pull my hair out!"

"I hit the drink holder. It was a natural reaction to pain." She settled back into the driver's seat, running her hands across her lap and smoothing out her skirt.

"Your natural reaction to pain is to clench your hand around someone else's hair and pull as hard as you can?!" Emma smoothed her hair down, wincing in pain and subconsciously running her tongue over the spot on her lip that the other woman had just nipped at.

Regina looked up, her face unreadable once more. "I can't change how I reacted, Miss Swan. I'm sorry if I caused you pain, it was unintentional."

"Well, the hair pulling part was. Not the lip biting part, I assume." Emma smirked, looking Regina up and down. "I thought you hated me."

"I do."

"Hmm." Emma grinned at the brunette, moving to open her door.

"Where are you going?" Regina asked, narrowing her eyes at the blonde, automatically suspicious of her devious looking grin. "I swear, Miss Swan, if you tell a SOUL what just transpired in this car, you will never set foot in this town again."

"I'm not telling anyone, _Madame Mayor._ Just going to head to work so I can get off early for dinner tonight." She grinned again before shutting the door to the car and walking away, leaving Regina in silence. She sat there, unmoving, until her phone buzzed lightly, informing her that she had just received a text message.

"_And your threats to get me out of this town feel kinda empty after you just jumped me in your own car, Regina."_

Emma walked hurriedly to her own car, desperate to get away from the situation.

_"Calm down Emma, it's okay. Oh fuck. Did you REALLY just send the mother of your son a flirty text after she just randomly made out with you in her car? Stop trying to play it cool, that was fucking weird. Hot, but weird. Maybe she was just super horny because everyone's scared of her so they stay away from her, so she saw an opportunity and seized it. Or maybe she has a thing for hate sex... Shit, that could be hot. She does still hate me, right? Well she may not like me, but she can't possibly hate me. We've been... friends lately. Kind of. I think?"_

Emma squinted her face as she held an internal conversation with herself, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. She had gone to talk to Regina about Henry. Okay, normal. Regina was acting kinda bitchy and weird, but that's not really that unusual. Okay, normal again. She said what she wanted to say. Then... Regina had just _kissed_ her? Out of the blue? She had to have missed something.

She replayed the moment in her mind as she climbed into her car, searching for the thing that had made Regina go off. Nothing. There was nothing. The woman had just plain, out of the blue kissed her. Right on the mouth. More than once. And with tongue. And she _bit_ her! Fuck, that woman could kiss.

_"Oh shit Emma, and you said you were still coming over for dinner. Well THIS is gonna be awkward..."_

The blonde turned the key in the ignition, firing up her little beetle. She drove home, distracted the entire way. When she walked through the door of the apartment, Mary Margaret was sitting on a stool in the kitchen, staring lovingly at a bouquet of tulips.

"Aren't you..."

"So fucking frustrating," Emma muttered under her breath, stomping into the kitchen and throwing her keys down on the counter.

"... supposed to be at work?" The brunette finished meekly.

Emma grabbed a glass from the cupboard, ignoring her roommate and continuing to mutter under her breath as she poured a generous amount of Jack Daniels and took a rather large gulp.

"Something you wanna talk about?" Mary Margaret questioned a little louder, raising her eyebrow lightly at Emma's dramatic entrance.

Emma stopped her muttering and turned to the brunette, placing her glass on the counter. "Ugh, sorry Mary Margaret. I'm just a little worked up right now."

"Yes, so I can see."

"It's Regina again."

"Isn't it always?" Mary sighed, tired of the way the Mayor treated her friend. Tired of the way the Mayor treated everyone, actually. When she took the time to put her emotions aside and think about it, she was sure the woman just needed someone to love her and understand her. She couldn't really be that... evil, could she? The trouble was, nobody seemed brave enough to be the one to try and understand the stony, self-protective Mayor enough to give her what Mary Margaret believed she needed; love. Love could save anybody, that much she was sure of. She knew it in the deepest, darkest corners of her heart.

"That damn woman thinks she can just walk all over everyone and do whatever she wants whenever she wants and I'm sick of it!"

"Is she forbidding you from seeing Henry again?" Mary Margaret questioned, retaining her composure but ready to boil over if that was indeed the case. Emma was just as good a mother as Regina, even if she didn't raise Henry. She still loved the kid and deserved a chance to be in his life. Mary knew that if she ever had a kid, she would do everything in her power to be in their life. She could never leave her child to grow up alone. No mother should ever be denied the precious gift of knowing her child.

"No," Emma began, undecided on whether or not she wanted to tell Mary Margaret what had actually happened. "Nothing like that. She's just... being frustrating. As usual."

"Oh." The brunette let it go, not wanting to press further. She knew Emma would confide in her if she wanted to, but she also knew not to push the blonde.

"I think I'm gonna take the day off of work. I have to go to Regina's for dinner tonight and I definitely need to blow off some steam before then or I will probably explode on her in front of the kid."

"Yes, that would be bad," Mary Margaret agreed, almost to herself, as Emma had already started walking to her bedroom.

The brunette got up, pulling some ingredients out of the fridge and beginning to heat up a few pots and pans. She was chopping up some fresh basil when Emma sauntered out, running clothes on and hair tied up in a ponytail.

"You gonna eat all that yourself tonight or what? You know I'm gonna be gone." Emma raised an eyebrow as she surveyed the counter, covered in various foods. Clearly this was no mac and cheese dinner.

"I'm... hungry?" She gave a hopeful face, knowing that she was a terrible liar but hoping Emma would leave it alone all the same.

"It's okay, I won't be home until later. I'm gonna have to stop by the office after dinner at Regina's to do a little paperwork so I don't fall way behind from taking the day off. You and David will have plenty of time to eat your nice dinner... and do whatever else it is you two do." She waggled her eyebrows playfully at her roommate, hopping past her and heading towards the door.

Mary swatted at her lightly as she went by, her cheeks turning a rosy color. "It's just dinner with a friend, Emma."

"Right, and I'm a natural blonde and Regina and I are best friends _forever and ever_." Emma grinned at her roommate as she headed out the door, ponytail bouncing with each step. "Be safe!" She yelled over her shoulder, slamming the door shut behind her.

Mary just hid her face in her hands and laughed. "Oh Emma."


End file.
